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- Creators: Economics Program in CLAS
Description
Campaign finance regulation has drastically changed since the founding of the Republic. Originally, few laws regulated how much could be contributed to political campaigns and who could make contributions. One by one, Congress passed laws to limit the possibility of corruption, for example by banning the solicitation of federal workers and banning contributions from corporations. As the United States moved into the 20th Century, regulations became more robust with more accountability. The modern structure of campaign finance regulation was established in the 1970's with legislation like the Federal Election Campaign Act and with Supreme Court rulings like in Buckley v. Valeo. Since then, the Court has moved increasingly to strike down campaign finance laws they see as limiting to First Amendment free speech. However, Arizona is one of a handful of states that established a system of publicly financed campaigns at the state-wide and legislative level. Passed in 1998, Proposition 200 attempted to limit the influence of money politics. For my research I hypothesized that a public financing system like the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC) would lead to Democrats running with public funds more than Republicans, women running clean more than men, and rural candidates running clean more than urban ones, and that Democrats, women, and rural candidates would win in higher proportions than than if they ran a traditional campaign. After compiling data from the CCEC and the National Institute on Money in State Politics, I found that Democrats do run with public funds in statistically higher proportions than Republicans, but when they do they lose in higher proportions than Democrats who run traditionally. Female candidates only ran at a statistically higher proportion from 2002 to 2008, after which the difference was not statistically significant. For all year ranges women who ran with public money lost in higher proportions than women who ran traditionally. Similarly, rural candidates only ran at a statistically higher proportion from 2002 to 2008. However, they only lost at higher proportions from 2002 to 2008 instead of the whole range like with women and Democratic candidates.
ContributorsMarshall, Austin Tyler (Author) / Herrera, Richard (Thesis director) / Jones, Ruth (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This project seeks to provide a general picture of the economic dependence on fossil fuels per County in the United States. The purpose for this study is creating a foundation for conversations about the future of fossil fuel workers and counties that depend heavily on fossil fuels. The main indicators utilized for this were employment and payroll data extracted from United States Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns dataset. A section on similarities between fossil fuel workers and other occupations was included, which shows possible alternative industries for fossil fuel workers. The main goal of the project is to provide possible solutions for mitigating job losses in the future. Some proposed solutions include retraining, expanding higher education, and investing in new industries. It is most important for future work to include input from most vulnerable counties and understand the social and cultural complexities that are tied to this problem.
ContributorsRamirez Torres, Jairo Adriel (Author) / Miller, Claek (Thesis director) / Shutters, Shade (Committee member) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) continue to contribute heavily to global warming. It is estimated that the international community has only until 2050 to eliminate total carbon emissions or risk irreversible climate change. Arizona, despite its vast solar energy resources, is particularly behind in the global transition to carbon-free energy. This paper looks to explore issues that may be preventing Arizona from an efficient transition to carbon-free generation technologies. Identifiable factors include outdated state energy generation standards, lack of oversight and accountability of Arizona’s electricity industry regulatory body, and the ability for regulated utilities to take advantage of “dark money” campaign contributions. Various recommendations for mitigating the factors preventing Arizona from a carbon-free future are presented. Possibilities such as modernizing state energy generation standards, increasing oversight and accountability of Arizona’s electricity industry regulatory body, and potential market restructuring which would do away with the traditional regulated utility framework are explored. The goal is to inform readers of the issues plaguing the Arizona energy industry and recommend potential solutions moving forward.
ContributorsWaller, Troy (Author) / Sheriff, Glenn (Thesis director) / Rule, Troy (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12